Security Council Reform – Regional representation

Statement to the General Assembly
by Pascal Buffin
Deputy Permanent Representative of Belgium to the United Nations
on behalf of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Belgium
on the issue of “Security Council Reform – Regional representation”
New York, 1 April 2014

Mr. Chairman,

I have the pleasure to speak on behalf of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and
the Kingdom of Belgium.

We thank you for convening this third meeting on regional representation in
the Security Council. As we all know, article 23 of the UN Charter states, among
other things, that for the selection of SC members “due regard should be
paid, in the first instance, to the contribution of Members of the United
Nations to the maintenance of international peace and security and to the other
purposes of the Organization, and also to equitable geographical
distribution”.

This should be the basis of our debate today. Besides, we strongly believe
that an enlarged Council should also better reflect today’s geopolitical
realities. The issue of regional representation goes to the heart of this
concern. We should also make sure that an enlarged Council remains as efficient
and effective as possible.

Mr. Chairman,

The Netherlands and Belgium are convinced that the African continent should
be better represented in an enlarged Council, not just because a large part of
the topics on the agenda of the Council concern Africa, but also, and more
importantly, because we believe that the African continent should be fully
involved in dealing with peace and security in our world, wherever it is
necessary.

In previous debates, the Netherlands and Belgium have expressed full support
for an enlargement in both the permanent and the non-permanent category of
membership. and for the proposals of the G4, Brazil, Germany, India, Japan, to
achieve concrete progress in genuine text-based negotiations .

As said before, we would like to stress that any enlargement of the Security
Council has to take into account the concerns of small and medium-sized member
states of the UN. In this regard, we would like to ask particular attention for
LDC’s and middle income countries and for the Small Island Development States.

Mr. Chairman,

As in previous debates, I would like to assure you that Belgium and The
Netherlands continue to stand ready to contribute constructively to the
discussions. We are willing to consider any proposal that can facilitate
reaching a consensus. We support your approach and we would like to encourage
you again to formulate your own conclusions at the latest at the end of the
current cycle of debates.